Rail-joint fastener



(No Model.)

L. AVERS.

RAIL JOINT FASTENER. No. 430,503. Patented June 17, 1890 Jud/WM .Zowzlrdvenm UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICEi LOUIS AVERS, OF MARION, OHIO.

RAIL-JOINT FASTEN ER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 430,503, dated June 17, 1890.

Application filed November 11, 1889. Serial No. 329.951. (N0 model.)

To aZZ whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, LOUIS AVERS, a citizen of the United States, residing at Marion, in the county of Marion and State of Ohio, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Railway-Rail Joints, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact specification.

The objects of my invention are to provide a new and improved railway-joint which is strong, durable, and eflicient; to provide a novel railway-joint for properly holding the rails without bolt-holes through the rail-webs between their end portions or extremities; to provide a novel construction for-properly securing the meeting ends of the rails on the railway-ties, and preventing lateral displacement of such ends while permit-ting expansion and contraction of the rails without forming b0lt-holes or slots in the rail-webs between their extremities; to provide novel means for properly securing railway-rails of ordinary configuration, and to provide a novel construction whereby the fish plates embrace and are spiked to the railway-ties and secure the rails without bolt-holes in the webs between their end portions.

To accomplish these objects my invention consists in the combination of a base-plate to rest on a railway-tie, railway-rails adapted to abut at their adjacent ends, fish-plates resting against the rail-webs and each extending laterally, formed with a pair of pendent vertical wings, between which pass the base-plate and tie, and havinga lateral side fiangeintermediate the wings to spike the fish-plate and base-plate to the tie, a transverse bolt passing between the ends of the rails and unitingthe fish-plates, and transverse bolts passing beneath the rail-flanges and connecting the pendent wings, as will more fully hereinafter appear.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a perspective View showing my improved railway-rail joint applied to the end portions oftwo rails and in position on a railway-tie. Fig. 2 is a transverse sectional view taken on a line passing between the meeting ends of the rails. Fig. 3 is a transverse sectional View taken at or near one of the bolts connecting the pendent flanges of the fish-plates.

' Fig. 4 is a perspective view on a reduced scale, showing the meeting end portions of two rails.

In order to enable those skilled in the art to make and use my invent-ion, I will now describe the same in detail, referring to the drawings, wherein The numeral 1 indicates a railway-tie, and 2 arectangular or other suitably-shaped baseplate of metal, on which rest the end portions of two railway-rails 3 and 4, of the usual form in cross-section. The plate is of a length the same as or approximating the width of the tie, and the width of the plate exceeds that of the rail-flanges to project beyond each edge thereof.

In my invention the fish-plates 5 are separate from the base-plate, and bear against opposite sides of the rail-webs, so that the upper edges of the plates bear upon the lower surfaces of the rail-treads. The fish-plates each extend laterally, as at 6, and then downwardly to form two separated depending wings 7, arranged approximately ina vertical plane and bearing, respectively, against the opposite ends of the base-plate in such manner that the latter, as well as the railway-tie, extend or pass between the wings of the respective fish-plates. At a point intermediate each pair of wings the fish-plate is formed integral with a horizontal side flange S, which is preferably coextensive with the length of the base-plate. These flanges each have a notch or slot 11 (one or more) to receive a spike that is driven through an orifice in the base-plate into the tie, whereby the parts are firmly spiked in position. I prefer to employ two spikes at the outside and one at the inside of the rail, as the greatest strain is borne by the outer fish-plate. The adjacent end edges of the rail-webs are each provided with a semicircular or other notch or recess 9, Fig. 4, for the passage of the transverse bolt 10, by which the fish-plates are united and clamped against opposite sides of the rail-webs. The depending wings 7 are provided with bolt-holes for bolts 12, which pass beneath the railflanges to connect the wings below the rails and avoid perforating the rails for the passage of such bolts. The lateral side flanges between the depending wings provide extended bearings that rest on the metallic base-plate, and as the latter is supported by the tie a strong, durable, and efficient structure is provided,

wherein the rails are free to expand and contract lengthwise without damaging or straining the bolts, while the usual bolt-holes in the rail-webs between their end portions are rendered unnecessary, thereby preserving the strength of the rails.

In building a railway according to my invention I arrange that every joint will fall at a tie, and the latter thereby serves as a support for the base-plate, by which means the road is rendered durable, substantial, and efiective. By my construction the length of a joint is reduced and an economical construction provided which is practicable and useful.

What I claim is The combination of the base-plate to rest on a railway-tie, the rails, the fish-plates each extended laterally, formed with a pair of depending wings between which the tie and the base-plate pass, and having a side flange intermediate the wings to spike down the fish-plate and the base-plate, a bolt passing between the rail ends and uniting the fish-plates, and bolts passing beneath the rails and connecting the depending wings, sub-- stantially as described.

LOUIS AVERS.

Witnesses: Y

J. C. JOHNSTON, JOHN CULL. 

